QuoteThe incident occurred May 6, 2016, when Mader responded to a domestic-disturbance call and found Ronald "R.J." Williams Jr. with an unloaded handgun.

Mader told CNN last year that Williams was "visibly choked up" and told Mader to shoot him. As a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan, Mader told CNN that he concluded Williams wasn't a threat and so he tried to de-escalate the situation.

As Mader was trying to get Williams to drop his gun, two other Weirton police officers arrived. Mader told CNN that Williams raised his gun and was immediately shot and killed by one of the other officers.

And that's how we do things around here.

Anyway, Mader was fired a month later. There were a couple other reasons cited, but bottom line is that Mader felt it was ultimately because he didn't shoot the guy. He sued for wrongful termination, his case was aided by the ALCU, and was settled for $175K.

Sad thing is, if he remains a cop somewhere, do you think he'll ever make that "mistake" again?

QuoteThe incident occurred May 6, 2016, when Mader responded to a domestic-disturbance call and found Ronald "R.J." Williams Jr. with an unloaded handgun.

Mader told CNN last year that Williams was "visibly choked up" and told Mader to shoot him. As a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan, Mader told CNN that he concluded Williams wasn't a threat and so he tried to de-escalate the situation.

As Mader was trying to get Williams to drop his gun, two other Weirton police officers arrived. Mader told CNN that Williams raised his gun and was immediately shot and killed by one of the other officers.

And that's how we do things around here.

Anyway, Mader was fired a month later. There were a couple other reasons cited, but bottom line is that Mader felt it was ultimately because he didn't shoot the guy. He sued for wrongful termination, his case was aided by the ALCU, and was settled for $175K.

Sad thing is, if he remains a cop somewhere, do you think he'll ever make that "mistake" again?

He followed his instinct. He'll like never face that deadly a decision again. The vast majority of cops never do.

QuoteOmbligo
Time to find a different profession, no police force will hire him. Not because of the non-shooting, but because he sued. The effectively blackballs him.

Good for him.

Maybe. I mentioned this to a friend whose a Captain with a local department. There are departments that would consider him. Ex: SFPD, Oakland PD, Richmond, CA PD. Amongst the highest paying forces. It's a trait some are seeking.

QuoteOmbligo
Time to find a different profession, no police force will hire him. Not because of the non-shooting, but because he sued. The effectively blackballs him.

Good for him.

Maybe. I mentioned this to a friend whose a Captain with a local department. There are departments that would consider him. Ex: SFPD, Oakland PD, Richmond, CA PD. Amongst the highest paying forces. It's a trait some are seeking.

The best career decision a person can make when it comes to joining the force is not to.

The best career decision a person can make when it comes to joining the force is not to.

So you don't want those with intelligence and standards? That will leave us with the bottom of the barrel only. That is hardly the way to begin to correct the problem.

You are assuming that police forces and criminal enforcement as they are today can be corrected or redeemed simply by hiring well. Nothing could be further from the truth. The structural problems are such that all they do is turn good people into cops who do harm whether they intend it or not. Sorry, but I've seen too much of this to think otherwise.